Top 10 Final Fantasy Games Of All Time

GB: "Final Fantasy is one of the most prestigious, high quality franchises of all time. Recent events such as the release of Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XIV and the repeated releases of Final Fantasy IV have impacted the brand name adversely, but it cannot be denied that Final Fantasy is one of the most important, more high quality franchises in the RPG genre. The series spans fourteen mainline games (till now), and a plethora of spin-offs that cover everything racing to mini-game compilations to music games to even strategy. Considering such a vast number of games, you’d think that most of them would be crap. However, you’d be wrong, considering that when Final Fantasy gets it right, it’s unsurpassable."

The Final Fantasy franchise has lost its greatness this gen. I believe that FFVS13 is the only game that can save Final Fantasy. All Square Enix has to do is keep it as a PS3 exclusive and actaully release the game!!!

FF12 is a great game and is undeserving of some of the hate it gets. Vast, open worlds, one of the best-written scripts in videogaming and a mature story where the politics of a fractured world take precedent over individual characters. I admit that the inclusion of Van and Panelo was unnecessary, but that was a side effect of Matsuno's departure from the project halfway through.

The worst MAIN final fantasy for me is II (REAL numbering, not IV.) That game is boring and broken. Still a decent JRPG in the end, but my least favorite FF by far. Least favorites go 1-II 2-III 3-XIII

Brilliant list, I was expecting to see Final Fantasy VII at the top, but I was glad VI got the top place. It's the better RPG, with far swifter pacing and hasn't aged as badly as VII has. It didn't make the RPG genre popular in the west like VII did, mind you, which is a shame.

I really really hope Xiii-2, Type 0 and Versus turn out well. My favorite series, simply because it has consistant quality. Except with FFXIII. Maybe that was my mistake though, I played 20 hours of it in 2 days, couldn't stand any more. I can usually play a large amount of time like that on FF's though.

Wow i am honestly shocked it seems like everyones list always has 7 as the top, but my list has always had FFIII or FF 6 whichever you refer to it as is the top Final Fantasy game. I have litteraly sank over a 1000 hours into that game. I have played it 15+ times on SNES & another 10+ on emulators. IMO one of the best games ever made!

Edit: You know its funny games like FFVI & Lufia are what got me into RPG's years ago.

I still dont understand the hate for XII my list is

1. FF VI 2. FF Tactics 3. FF IV 4. FF XII 5. FF VII

& this is comming from a hardcore RPG player who has litteraly played all of the final fantasy games all the way back to NES days!

I would have agreed with your list but then you put FFXII on top of VII? No way!

FFXII was pretty much a mess with pointless characters like Vaan and Penelo and its crappy MMO-like battle system that basically played itself. The story was fine but lacked any kind of impact and major menacing villain for the sake of realism and consistency. I like that but it was unbalanced. FFvsXIII looks like it's gonna be the first FF game to achieve it just like Batman did for the comic based movies. (A fantasy based on reality)

and you are trying to put it below FFVII for that? A talking dog, a guy with a machine gun for an arm, a clone of some alien, a random ninja village in a supposed futuristic world, a flying circus right next to a destroyed mining town, and a rocket ship in a small village. All that random BS put together and you think that FFVII made more sense (and weas more realistic) than FF12.

FF12 is the only FF game where nothing was out of place. Everything in the world was explained (btw unlike FFVII there was an actual world with various environments and enemies) and the story, rather than being "Bad guy ttrying to blow up the world for no reason,we must stop him!!", it was about a captured city that was secretly trying to gain enough power to use as a deterrent against the Empire that ruled them. It was more about how the characters tried to affect the world (which actually was important in 12, many things about the world influenced the story, like the mist, magicite, nethicite, espers that roamed the world etc..). The writing was the best I've seen with a FF game, with every character having a personality (that I could believe) and the voice acting and slight Elizabethan twist on the dialogue was welcome.

Overall it was an exceptional FF game. I could easily see why someone would love it over FF VII. The only negatives I see are the license boards not being personalized for each character, (I think the International Version of the game rereleased with each character having a different license board) and that Vaan and Penelo didn't really add to the story. But I believe that was because some guy left during the middle of production.

This list is actually pretty good. I think that FF VII is probably the most overrated final fantasy and should have been in the top 5 maybe, but not number 2. The number 1 on the list is spot on, and it's nice to see tactics included on the list as well. Final Fantasy X's position on this list is intriguing, since there was a lot to not like about that game, but certainly it deserves a reasonably high spot. IMO, the top 3 should look like this: 3. FF Tactics 2. FF IV 1. FF VI

I would have liked the list to stay within the main numbered series. The list is okay, but the top is usually FFVII, FFX, FFIV or FFIX. It's usually nothing else. It seems like NO ONE likes I-III, they were simple, but maybe that was their downfall (in a current gen perspective).

I agree with you on 1-2 i played them both but didnt care much for them.

However 3 or 6 is one of the best games ever made. FF III was a great game before RPG's were ever popular. That game more or less single handedly made me a hardcore RPG fan. Most people on this site probably came of age when VII was released & VII made RPG's cool. I remember for the longest time how weird it was that people were playing RPG's, playing FFIII i felt like such a nerd sicne RPG's werent popular back then

FFVIII was not that good, sometimes I think that game gets hyped more than VII. I've played all the Final Fantasy games over the years and VIII is down the lower end of my list too. I do think IX deserves more respect tho, it tried to be a classic SNES FF but in 3D, and I personally think it did a damn fine job. Them trying to go all real always loses it for me, and VIII kinda started that trend, the games that lack that anime'ish flare and ignore the series roots never win me over.

Out of battle models that were rather chibi with huge eyes, a stuffed toy and a talking cat as well as some undead guy in your party and VII was spose to be the start of the real trend. I don't think so. Sure the cut scenes and battle screen portrayed them more real like but even then they were less 'real' looking than VIII. It wasn't till the later additions to VII that they started making them more realistic.

Of course VIII looks more real than VII otherwise it wouldn't be an improvement? And yet you said IX was more like the originals and yet less real than VIII, so by your own admission then the less real IX is better and an improvement on VIII?

I don't believe your thinking holds for me personally, XII was horrible and not more real or an improvement over X, and although X was enjoyable, it wasn't anywhere near as great as IX and the originals for me.

It just goes to show that each person has their own likes and dislikes. I was disagreeing with your opinion that VII started the real trend, and you trying to state it as fact rather than opinion doesn't help your cause lol. And like any opinion it won't change unless you convince me otherwise, which you haven't. But thanks for trying, means your passionate about your belief which is a good thing :D

Of course it`s Final Fantasy 6. All they write about FF6 in the article is so true except Chrono Trigger stands tall beside this game. People that say FF7 is the best one is younger players and by younger players I mean those in the 20`s.

This is still my opinion and consider all the shooters and crappy mainstream teen mentality games that is released this generation I think it will stay that way for a long time; Final Fantasy 6 is THE best game ever made with Chrono Trigger on second place.

What the?! Final Fantasy 6 is better than Final Fantasy 7?! How can a 2D game be better than a 3D one? I've never played FF6, and I've only played 7 up until the end of Disc 1, but it's the best one of the lot.

My favorite is FFXI...sure, i cannot compare it to the others because it's online but that's a list of FF so it could include this as well. Please look at the "My favorite" part before clicking the disagree button...

The series has been dead since Squaresoft and Enix merged. The story telling, battle systems, characters, and sense of adventure have been half assed ever since.

BTW, those who think I need to get over it, I already have. After buying FF13 day one and putting in 20+ hours into it, I realized that the company who used to make the great Final Fantasies are no longer around. Its cool though, the old ones are so good I can play those till the day I die. Go ahead Squeenix, keep making these turds. You only make it easier and easier to forget that your company even exist with every new release.